Shaping our Future wins supreme accolade at community awards

Community-driven initiative Shaping Our Future has taken out the Regional Supreme Award at the Trustpower Community Awards, held in Wanaka last night (Monday, November 2).

Shaping Our Future is an independent, incorporated society that uses inclusive processes to engage the community, gain the input of residents and ratepayers, and obtains commitment to action in support of the community-created vision.

Since its inception in 2011, volunteers throughout the Queenstown Lakes District have worked tirelessly to create initiatives for different aspects and needs of the community – including economic development, the environment, transport, and the events and visitor industries.

Steering group chairman David Kennedy says it’s an honour for Shaping Our Future to be recognised at this level.

"This award belongs to the hundreds of people across the Queenstown Lakes District community who have believed in and participated in the Shaping our Future process over the past four years. Our goal is to get our entire community involved in discussions about what we want our collective future to look like - the hard part is then beating the pathway towards that future. It is amazing what can be achieved by putting people together and having a conversation,” he says.

“Shaping Our Future is still in its formative years but is being built on carefully-managed performance it has huge potential in our district and much further afield,” Kennedy adds.

The award means Shaping Our Future Incorporated has the opportunity to win a national accolade at the Trustpower National Community Awards in Dunedin in March 2016.

Steering Group member Kathy Dedo accepted the award on behalf of Shaping Our Future at the ceremony at Edgewater Resort last night.

“Shaping Our Future is democracy in action, but the action begins with each of us. If we don’t shape our future, someone else will.”

The steering group is urging Queenstown Lakes District residents and ratepayers to attend the upcoming Shaping Our Future AGM, on November 16, 6.30pm at the Lake Wanaka Centre. New steering group members are being sought and the AGM is an ideal time to come and hear more about the process.

At the AGM, high-profile Queenstown developer and Shaping Our Future steering group member Alastair Porter will share his views on long-term integrated planning for the Queenstown Lakes District. The creator of Remarkables Park will discuss data and growth projections for Queenstown, Wanaka and the surrounding areas. He’ll also discuss the opportunities and challenges that growth provides.

ENDS

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